When Kelly Ripa, co-host of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," declared that yogurt is "my dessert, my breakfast, my everything," she was echoing the sentiments of millions of Americans.

Marketing research shows that in 2018, the country gobbled down 13.4 pounds of yogurt per person. But in reality, only about half of Americans like the probiotic-laced food, so some folks are eating a whole lot more than that.

And they're the lucky ones. A study presented at the American Society for Nutrition meeting, called Nutrition 2020, revealed that eating sugar-free yogurt regularly is associated with lower body mass index (BMI), blood glucose, and diastolic blood pressure.

Other research indicates that regularly eating yogurt and other fermented foods — such as tempeh and kimchi — may reduce the risk and duration of respiratory infections.

The benefits are likely from the boost in gut biome health that a regular dose of good-for-you bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus GG, and Streptococcus thermophilus provide.

But not all yogurt is created equal. You want to skip sweetened and jam-filled versions. Instead, add fresh fruit such as blueberries to plain yogurt.

And you want to be sure you are getting a lot of active cultures. Some brands have a "Live & Active Culture (LAC)" seal from the National Yogurt Association, indicating the brand contained at least 100 million cultures per gram when manufactured. Fortunately, most brands deliver live cultures even without the seal.

However, heat-treated yogurt is dead on arrival, and packaged products such as cereals and bars "made with real yogurt" don't deliver active cultures.